Density
Hong Kong's Unique and Vibrant Retail
Retail shopping in Hong Kong is a diverse experience of density, hidden storefronts and extreme visual stimulation, as this tour of the city's shopping areas shows.
Architect/Planner-Turned-Councilman Offers Thoughts on City's Future
An architect takes a seat on the Wet Hollywood City Council, and offers his thoughts on density and parking in the city and where things went wrong.
Does Density Pay?
Does having more density in a city means more people to pay property taxes, and thus, less of a tax burden on residents? Sam Newberg and a colleague run the numbers.
Subtle Changes in American Density
Density -- either high or low or somewhere in the middle -- is a key defining element of our cities. In this essay, Witold Rybczynski looks at the relative densities of U.S. cities and suggests that things may start to change subtly.
Celebrating the Mid-Rise Building
Builder Magazine thinks its time to give the mid-rise (4-6 stories) building its due.
Will New Development Make it Better, or Worse?
Development, or no development? Nathan Norris writes that untouched landscapes always rate highly in comparison to development proposals, so it is important to use visual tools that can help quantify the tradeoff and find ways to compensate.
Parks Vs. Density
In Toronto, a developer is balking at the zoning that would force him to build a podium-style building out to the sidewalk, and wants to build a park with a tower instead. Can open space and density coexist?
It's Spring, and the People Are in Bloom
Kaid Benfield gets philosophical about the turn of the seasons, writing that it's "not just nature that renews itself", but the city floods with people that had been hiding inside through the inclement weather.
Demand Grows for Housing That's Smaller and Closer
The demands of the housing market are shifting to smaller homes that are in denser locations and closer to jobs, according to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors.
Blending Density
Vinayak Bharne proposes that density is often achieved using blunt enforcement of crude tools like "floor-space index", when density can be much more subtly accomplished than just shooting up a tower.
Passing A Master Plan in Densityphobic San Francisco
It's urbanists vs. NIMBYs as San Francisco's Planning Commission prepares to vote on a new master plan that calls for more density and more affordable housing.
Making Room for a Planet of Cities
As cities in developing countries expand, is smart growth the right approach? The conclusions of a new report by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy may surprise you.
A Taller D.C. Would Mean More Transportation Demand
As some voices in Washington D.C. call for increasing the city's building height limit, The Transport Politic looks at what that might mean for transportation demands in the city.
Attacking the Setbacks of Suburbia
Canada's suburbs don't have to be a problem, according to architect Drew Adams, who proposes a plan to densify them by developing unused space.
Back-and-Forth on Downtown Vancouver
The Tyee presents a conversation between two Vancouver urban thinkers about the city's downtown and how some efforts to improve the city's core have worked while others have fallen short.
Pre-America's Biggest City
Per Square Mile recount the history of Cahokia, a Mississipian settlement that was the biggest city in America from about 1250 to 1800.
Enough With the 'Enough with Jane Jacobs' Already!
Was Jane Jacobs a NIMBY? Did she despise density? These sort of reevaluations of Jacobs' legacy are hot at the moment. Roberta Brandes Gratz explains why the naysayers are off base.
Urging Verticality in China's New Cities
Urbanization is taking up a rapid pace in China. Though much of the planning going on is of the cookie-cutter variety, some say the Chinese need to pay more attention to growing their cities vertically.
St. Louis County Looks to Mix Uses
Officials in St. Louis are looking to update the county's zoning codes to allow denser housing, and a greater mix of land uses.
New Governor Moves Into Mixed-Use
California's Governor-elect Jerry Brown will be living part-time in the first modern mixed use project in Sacramento. Jerry's new neighborhood has a WalkScore of 95 and is walkable to the Capitol building.
Pagination
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)